MSI338

HIMACHAL PRADESH HIMALAYAN TRIBAL SILVER EARRINGS WITH CONICAL PROJECTIONS AND REAR DANGLING ELEMENTS – SINGLE – NORTH INDIA – LATE 19TH TO EARLY 20TH CENTURY

THIS AUTHENTIC SINGLE OF LARGE TRADITIONAL EARRINGS IS ATTRIBUTED TO THE WESTERN HIMALAYAN REGION OF NORTH INDIA, MOST LIKELY HIMACHAL PRADESH OR ADJACENT HILL AREAS. THE DESIGN FEATURES A CIRCULAR HOOP WITH THREE PROMINENT CONICAL PROJECTIONS AND A CLUSTER OF DANGLING ELEMENTS ATTACHED AT THE REAR, A FORM DOCUMENTED IN HIMALAYAN TRIBAL ADORNMENT AND ASSOCIATED WITH STATUS, PROTECTION, AND REGIONAL IDENTITY.

THE EARRINGS ARE HAND FABRICATED IN SILVER OR A HIGH-SILVER ALLOY (UNTESTED), WITH VISIBLE HAND-FORMED WIRE, INDIVIDUALLY ATTACHED DANGLES, AND NATURAL PATINA CONSISTENT WITH AGE AND TRADITIONAL USE. THE CONSTRUCTION AND DECORATIVE LANGUAGE ALIGN WITH TRIBAL JEWELRY WORN BY RURAL AND HILL COMMUNITIES IN THE WESTERN HIMALAYAS, WHERE SUCH FORMS WERE PART OF EVERYDAY AND CEREMONIAL ATTIRE.

THIS TYPE IS PUBLISHED AND ILLUSTRATED IN A WORLD OF EARRINGS: AFRICA – ASIA – AMERICA BY ANN VAN CUTSEM, SKIRA, PAGE 142, CONFIRMING ITS HISTORICAL AND ETHNOGRAPHIC RELEVANCE.

ORIGIN: NORTH INDIA, WESTERN HIMALAYAN REGION
CULTURE: HIMALAYAN TRIBAL GROUPS, POSSIBLY HIMACHAL PRADESH
PERIOD: LATE 19TH TO EARLY 20TH CENTURY
MATERIAL: SILVER OR SILVER ALLOY, UNTESTED

WEIGHT (PAIR): 19.16 GRAMS
MEASUREMENTS: APPROX. 4.5 MM (L) × 7.5 MM (W)
EARLOBE HOLE REQUIREMENT: APPROX. 2 MM
CONDITION: VERY GOOD FOR ITS AGE, FULLY INTACT, WEARABLE, AND COLLECTIBLE
SALE AS 1 PIECE